FOTA threatens to go public against FIA

The Formula One Teams' Association is ready to go public and lift the lid on their grievances against the FIA as the battle of wills and words between the two organisations intensifies.

FOTA now have the full backing of the major manufacturers of Europe who on Friday concluded after a board meeting in Brussels that "the current governance system cannot continue", in effect calling for FIA president Max Mosley to go.

As expected, the FIA's announcement on Friday of the teams due to line up on the grid for 2010 failed to resolve any issues. Instead, the FIA face a potential legal battle with Ferrari, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso after handing the trio a full entry against their wishes.

However, in claiming the FIA issued an "erroneous statement", FOTA insist the entries of all its eight members were conditional.

Ferrari have made it clear they have no desire to compete in next year's championship until, in their own words, "the condition of its entry are satisfied". The Italian team maintain Mosley has failed to meet those conditions and is "in violation of Ferrari's rights under a written agreement with the FIA."

As for McLaren, Renault, Toyota, BMW Sauber and Brawn GP, they have until next Friday to submit conditional entries or face the threat of this being their last season in F1.

FOTA are willing to "continue to act constructively on resolving differences with the FIA," but are prepared to blow the whistle on the whole sorry situation.

A strongly-worded statement read: "Regrettably FOTA is being forced to outline in detail our objections to the new arbitrary FIA proposals.

"We will release details of our concerns in the near future which will constructively explain why the FIA's proposals are bad for the future of Formula One, the jobs of those employed within the motor-racing industry and especially the millions of loyal fans who are dismayed and confused at the internal bickering within our sport."

FOTA's main gripe surrounds Mosley's governance, and the unilateral manner in which he announced a voluntary £40million budget cap for next season without consulting the teams. This goes directly to the heart of Ferrari's case against the FIA as they claim that under a 2005 agreement with the governing body, they have a right of veto with regard to any new regulations. In not consulting with Ferrari, Mosley invalidated that contract, and as such Ferrari should not have been given an entry.